CHAPTER 50 – THE FIGHT

"It's probably nothing", Jack said as he held Elizabeth's hand and they sprinted down the corridor in response to the intercom's official request for Jack's presence. He jerked his head to one side to avoid a bee buzzing by them. Remembering not to swat at the insect. "These are mostly intelligent well-educated professionals," he added.

"Nerds," Elizabeth offered.

"Right. Their idea of a fight is more like a playground fight," Jack said optimistically as they skipped waiting for the elevator and took the stairs to Level Three.

"I'm good at scolding students," Elizabeth offered helpfully.

The couple gave each other worried looks when they opened the stairwell door to the lower level and heard the noise coming from Room B.

This was no playground fight. This was an all-out brawl.

When the room's door slid open, Elizabeth jumped back to avoid the body of a man falling towards her. The red-haired man faltered, caught himself on the door jamb, and then turned back to the crowded room, rushing to rejoin the melee.

Jack had years of living on a ranch and spending time in the outdoors, experience at more than one wild college party, and his law enforcement training, but he still found himself stunned by the scene. He dodged a bottle that was flying through the air, and found himself sprayed with liquid when it hit the wall.

Before he could yell for the fighting to stop, a woman stumbled into him. Jack was about to ask her if she was okay, when she extricated himself from his steady hand, pulled back her arm, and punched a crew member passing by.

Chairs were being swung, bottles were being used as weapons, fists were punching, legs were kicking, and people were being held in choke-holds.

Jack ducked as the first punch was thrown his way but the second one hit him square in the jaw. He stumbled on his feet until he was able to grab onto the table behind him to steady himself. Before he had time to react further, a burly man who reeked of cheap champagne grabbed a laptop and began swinging.

Champagne, Jack thought in confusion as he swiftly moved sideways. He quickly clasped his hands together, brought the clenched fists down onto the man's back, and propelled him to the ground.

"Enough!" Jack yelled.

Moving swiftly, he grabbed a woman by her crew uniform and yanked her off of her potential victim. He threw her aside where she landed into the arms of Seth, who had just entered the room and was coming to help stop the chaos.

What are you doing?!" Jack demanded when he saw Elizabeth out of the corner of his eye. She had pulled a woman in her twenties off of Becca and forcefully thrown her into a corner.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" he ordered his wife when she didn't respond at first but reached out an arm and pulled her roommate off the floor.

"I'm helping you!" Elizabeth explained.

"You could get hurt!" he yelled back as he grabbed a man by the neck and yanked him back before he could punch someone.

"Stop it!" he yelled in her direction before looking to the door and seeing Bud enter. The man immediately began separating brawling men and women.

When Jack held back a man whom he recognized from navigation, he glanced over to see Elizabeth high-kick someone in the ribs. The man fell down just before he had hurled himself at Jack.

"I said stop it!" Jack yelled across the room.

"Okay. Okay!" the defeated man in his arms replied eagerly.

"I'm not talking to you! I'm talking to my wife!" Jack said tersely.

He dropped the man and scanned the room.

A split second before a chair slammed into her abdomen, Elizabeth reacted instinctively. She swerved, pivoted, and kicked at the assailant, who promptly fell to the ground. The man looked up at her with a stunned expression, and then one of immediate regret.

"Oh man, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you!" he said apologetically. "I didn't hurt you, did I?!"

"I'm fine", she exhaled. "But stop fighting"

"Okay, Okay. Sorry again, ma'am."

Jack jumped across a prone body and pulled Elizabeth into his arms protectively. "What the hell were you doing?" he asked in stunned exasperation.

"I'm protecting you!" Elizabeth said in defense of her actions.

"Protecting me?! Stop it! Get out of here."

"Duck," she said calmly.

Jack immediately reacted to her order and avoided a punch which went over his head. The man throwing it went tumbling to the ground in a heap.

Jack left Elizabeth just long enough to separate the last two fighting men, and held them apart. "Calm down! Both of you!", he ordered tersely. The men's tired shoulders sank in surrender and one of them whimpered that he was out of breath anyway.

The room's earlier loud cries of anger were now replaced by moans and groans. Seth and Bud were standing menacingly near several people who cowered under them and nursed their injured fists or ribs which would soon be bruised.

Elizabeth heard one person mumble disagreeably, "You should have just let us kill some of each other. Then there'd be more food for the rest of us to eat."

"I need the doctor," someone else muttered.

"Wait your turn," Becca replied as she limped toward the door.

Jack surveyed the crowd of bodies and gave Elizbeth an incredulous look.

When she merely gave him an innocent shrug, his look turned to one of exasperation.

"What were you thinking?" he asked in disgust.

"That I could help."

Jack shook his head in disbelief.

"Hey" she said with another casual shrug. "You're the one that taught me Krav Maga. I'm just doing what you taught me."

"You shouldn't be doing it when you're pregnant", Jack reminded her as he helped two men up from the floor.

"I shouldn't be stuck on a crippled transporter in space either. But I'm doing that," she said with a smile. "And where you go, I go."

Twenty minutes later, the couple made their way back to their living quarters. Jack had decided not to press charges against anyone for fighting, but the passengers would be reprimanded for stealing the cases of champagne meant for the celebratory final night aboard the transporter.

"I'll write my report later," he said with a frustrated shake of his head. "Half of them don't even know why they were fighting; they're just sick of being on this ship. Cheap champagne on empty stomachs and irritable tempers. What a mess."

"I thought it was pretty cool," Elizbeth remarked as she started to thrust her fists out and punch the air. "I was never in a real fight before. Not part of my Hamilton upbringing".

"Stop that," Jack ordered as Elizabeth continued to shadow box as she walked next to him.

"Uh uh, I'm a fighter," she said proudly. "Did you see me kick that guy?"

"I did. And I'd just as soon forget I did. Did you forget that you're pregnant?"

"I think maybe that's why I'm so jacked-up," she replied as she continued to punch at an imaginary opponent. "No pun intended. Get it? Jacked-up? 'cause I'm pregnant with your baby and jacked-up also means really stimulated."

"I get it," he sighed.

"All those hormones rushing through my body. Maybe I should be a boxer when we get back to Earth."

Jack gave her a comical sideways glance.

"And give up teaching?"

"I could do both." She ducked to avoid an imaginary punch and kicked into the air.

Before she could defeat her non-existent opponent, Jack placed his hands on her hips and hoisted her up over one of his shoulders.

"Hey! What are you doing?" she exclaimed. She moved her head sideways so she wasn't speaking into Jack's back. Her head was upside down causing her long hair to fall from her scalp like a curtain.

"The fireman's carry."

Without explaining any more, he began walking down the corridor with his wife draped over his shoulder. His arms held tightly to the back of her legs so she didn't fall.

"Why?!"

"Because you're not a fighter. You're a lover. And I intend to remind you of that."

"This isn't the romantic carry," she said with a grumble but then couldn't help by smile as one of Jack's hands passed over her bottom.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," he replied with a smile.

When the door to their living quarters swung open, he walked in and punched a code into the scanner beside the door.

"Are you locking the door to keep our roommates out?" Elizabeth asked with a giggle. She was still upside down and over his shoulder so she couldn't see what he was doing but she had a pretty good idea.

"I am."

He gently lowered her to one of the bottom berths and crawled on top of her. Elizabeth didn't say anything but looked up into his face which was just a few inches above hers. The look in Jack's eyes left nothing to the imagination. His gaze was fixed on what he wanted.

She couldn't decide if she should tease him and push him off her body or allow him to kiss her.

Of course, she knew she didn't really have a choice. She hadn't had a choice since almost the first moment they had met two years earlier. Her mind dreamed of his kisses. Her lips craved his kisses. Her body yearned for his kisses. She was his.

Instead of pushing him off, she stared back at him. Anticipating the warm touch of his mouth. Grateful he had locked the door.

"So, I'm not allowed to protect you?" she said breathlessly. The atmosphere had quickly changed from light-hearted fun to thick with desire.

"Let's get a few things straight, Mrs. Thornton. There are only two places you are allowed to be. One is out of harm's way."

"Where's the other?" she exhaled as her heart began beating faster.

"Where you are right now," he said seductively.

"Under you?" she whispered as he lowered his lips to hers.

"Exactly." His lips were moist and warm. She was torn between wrapping her arms around him or selfishly lying there and letting him give her pleasure.

"What about on top of you?" she said breathlessly as his lips trailed her neck.

"You talk too much, Mrs. Thornton," he murmured before ending the conversation with his tongue.

UP NEXT: CHAPTER 51